I'm featuring some photos from a blog that's a guilty pleasure for me, Jane Aldrige's Sea of Shoes
It's written by a powerhouse teen, daughter of a fashion model, fashionista - beyond - fashionista (with no negative implications). She has incredible levels of creativity & taste that are still within the realm of a non-fiction person, i.e. relatibilty) just past high-school girl woman, with a combo of savvy & naivete that I find truly charming. Okay, honestly the blog is sometimes a wee bit cutsie and world-view-blind, but she's just 17-18 for chrisssakes and it is all about style not substance.
Jane takes LOTS of pictures of herself ( and her mom takes pix of her as well as they play dress-up) in outfits put together from thrifted finds, gowns sent direct from the designer, something scavenged at at Neiman-Marcus sale, vintage jewelry from Ebay, bought from a street vendor or hole-in-the-wall shop in Tokyo, Tulsa, Paris, Chicago, Austin, etc., etc., etc. I think you get my drift.
Jane isn't going to school this year. Jane goes to Paris for the ultimate international-debutante ball experience. Jane is impossibly beautiful. Jane has a super-interesting-arty-oh so yummy-I-would-totally-grope-around-in-the-dark-and-teach- him-things-boyfriend (YOUNG - inappropriate crush alert!) whom she totally plays down. Jane's mom has money, Jane lives in a Dallas 'burb in a 70's, high-end, tract home that mom has turned into a symbol of timely, eclectic decor - faultlessly gorgeous. The gene pool is rife with creativity & style. Jane is often ed interviewed. Jane is very likable. Jane has her own shoe line. Jane goes to Japan every year with her mom. Jane has quite the future ahead.
The blog is highly visual -- from the photos she finds, her own drawings, vignettes and constructions, the photos she takes and all manner of assorted reference materials she pulls from.
Of all the components this blog has, if doesn't have affectation, or snark. Joy & beauty abound. It's professional. I'm not always in the mood for it, but, it is great eye-candy-inspirational.
If you're looking for intellectual stimulant and world news, you ain't gonna find it here. But, as a pretty, often entertaining diversion it's quite wonderful. Caveat: MUST love fashion.
Anywayyyyy, her April 1st post has her NAILING the eye-make up aspirations of many of us at the time, mid-to late 1960's. Sharon Tate's there, Twiggy's there, even Garbo appears as inspiration. Only Jean Shrimpton is missing -- so I've added her here.
These eyes are what I wanted in 1966, with a passion and fervor that shall remain unexplained. But, alas, I was not blessed with deeps set eyes and much lid. Nay my friends, I had but smallish slits with a barely visual lid. It upsets me deeply even now..kinda. Of course now, the area above my lid is headed south. Not only does the lid disappear even with open eyes, but it seems highly likely that the entire eye ball will soon be curtained by this southern migration. Aging..aaaaargh.
But, I digress.
Oh how I practiced these looks. The hardest part, as I recall, was the importance of having a steady hand, as the lines were very precise. The 'smokey-eye" with everything smudged and more subtle was decades away. For these '60's faces one had to have SKILLS.
Finally, I settled for just one shadow arc above each eye, lid + undereye liner + MAJOR lashes which was all well and good except I was a cry-er. I cried when I laughed, when frustrated, when angry, when touched. This is important because there wasn't one of the products to achieve this look that was waterproof - I tell ya, waterproof mascara changed my life - except one liquid eyeliner I found that had a patent leather/high-gloss, dried finish. The only way you could get THAT stuff off was to peel it off. Great for the lids-skin I bet. And, absolutely terrifying if you happened to see one of those patent eyeliner dry ripped strip thingies on a sweater or the floor without remembering what it really was.
Regardless, these were my eye make-up goddesses and it was fabulous to think of them and that time again.
Thanks Jane.
*Photos copyrighted by Sea of Shoes
Jean Shrimpton photo - Google Image Search
